Health is a measure of how well your cells function. To be at your best means that each cell must be functioning at its best. Do you know what it takes to have all your cells fully operational?

There is a direct connection between the vitality of your cells and the things you put into your body. Your body was made to receive the nutrients it needs from the foods you eat. The availability of nutrients at the cellular level determines your overall health. This is the first law of natural health.

But before you begin on any nutritional program or diet, ask yourself the following questions.

•In what soil was this food grown?
•Under what conditions did it grow?
•What is the breeding behind the plants producing this food?
Health-giving foods have certain characteristics. You can easily digest them and you gain many more nutrients than you expend on digestion, assimilation and distribution. These foods are called "nutrient dense foods."

Our plant breeders and our agricultural practices have been robbing us of these nutrient dense foods. Because easily digested and nutrient loaded food supports life - all life - such foods do not keep long on grocery shelves. Economic pressures have caused us to develop long keeping, nutrient poor varieties of our commercial food plants. Our reliance upon commercial fertilizers, which replace only three or four of the 70 or more minerals needed for optimal growing conditions, has led to mineral deficient soils that produce nutrient poor plants.

It is hard to find commercially available foods that qualify as nutrient dense. While being a step up from the conventionally grown vegetables, even "organic" foods are not necessarily grown on living, mineral rich soils.

Did you know that an analysis of the USDA Food Composition Charts shows an overall 26% decline in the average nutrient value of all our foods over the last 20 years? This decline in nutrition is a continuation of a 75-year trend.

What can you do? Here are two steps I recommend.

1.If you are a gardener you can cultivate your food crops in a way that ensures maximum nutrient loading. Spend the time to take care of your soil by adding in living compost, beneficial plant matter and soil supplements that provide a naturally balanced, broad range of minerals. Your plants will love it and reward you handsomely.
2.There are certain foods that can be classified as Super Foods. These, by definition, are nutrient dense and should provide a wide range of nutrients and minerals. These super foods can help fill in the gaps that may be left by your normal diet.

So, do you want health? Begin by following the First Law of Natural Health and eat the food that supports your body's efforts to maintain a high degree of wellbeing.


About the Author
Ellis Hein is an avid health enthusiast, a gardener, a writer, a woodturner and a home schooling parent. Contact Mr. Hein at ehein@health-helps.com for information about the other four laws of natural health.
For more about Mr. Hein's pick of health giving products and super foods, visit http://www.health-helps.com. You can see a gallery of Mr. Hein's woodturning at http://www.woodturnedart.vcn.com